The End Result
by babyhilts
Summary: All it took was one night; one mistake to turn Steve's life upside. Now he'll have to learn the hard way, that with every action comes a consequence. Rated T for language and certain situations.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** This is just a pre-story bit. Its meant to be a bit more _artsy?_ I guess that's the only way to describe the style I wrote in for the prologue. So, hope you enjoy and the first chapter will be up shortly after this.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own a thing except this story and any original characters you see. Everything else belongs to Susie Hinton.

* * *

_Prologue:  
_

_The haze was thick and suffocating. Somewhere in the deep end my mind was drowning. Common sense floundered. It begged for a life preserver that I didn't want to take. It would pull me to safety. Out of my self induced state and to the shore where pain and reality would once again set in._

_I relished in my drunken stupor; hands sluggish as they rode up the cotton t-shirt. Tracing sweat streaked palms across hot flesh; over his chest and down to his stomach. A foreign set of hands caressed my naked back. Along my spine until they came to rest on my butt. _

_The haze was getting thicker. My mind was deadweight at the bottom and I knew it would not resurface anytime soon. Instinct took over in its place. _

_I tugged at the fly of his jeans. The foreign hands came to remove the rest. I leaned back, staring at the face before me. The dark curls, greased with hair product and sweat. Eyes glazed, looking at me through the haze as mine looked at his._

_Harsh, ragged breaths filled the silence of the room. It reeked of nicotine and sex and loud indiscernible music sounded from the other side of the wall. People milled about the house able to step in at anytime. I thought that should bother me, but it didn't._

_I stared at the stranger on the bed. Half dressed, with only a t-shirt and I couldn't remember its color. I couldn't remember who sat here with me. _

_A crooked grin caught the stream of moonlight through the tattered curtains. My lips curled in response. Instincts claimed me as I crawled up his chest, straddling his waist. The weight of us both together brought us down with a soft__** Umph!**__ onto the mattress._

_Our mouths parted as one and I let the rest of myself be taken in by the haze._


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:**_This is a rather short chapter to help finish setting up the story. The next one will be longer and will be in Steve's POV. It's already partially finished so it wont be too long. Oh and to forewarn, Nancy lacks er...knowledge as you'll notice so please don't take that as my own stupidity. It's just the way she's written lol. Enjoy and review. I appreciate constructive criticism but if you flame me just to be be rude I'll only roll my eyes and laugh._

**Disclaimer:**_ Once again, I don't own anything but the story and the original characters. Everything else is S. E. Hinton's._

* * *

_This is the way the world ends  
This is the way the world ends  
This is the way the world ends  
Not with a bang but a whimper_.

—_T.S. Eliot, "The Hollow Men" (1925)_

* * *

Nancy

_**6 weeks later**_

The lunch bell sounded from outside the closed bathroom door. Legs bent, I braced myself against the toilet. School books at my side, I'd taken them in my haste to escape second period English.

The sudden nausea that had assaulted me only minutes before had passed. The results were swirling chunks in the porcelain bowl beneath my chin. I reached a tired hand and flushed it down.

_Out of sight, out of mind._

This had been my routine for the past several weeks. It had been more than once that I'd run from class, clutching at my stomach in hopes of keeping the bile down just long enough to reach the girl's room. I knew some teachers had to be getting worried. They didn't say much when I darted for the hall. Not like the first few times. Like I said, it had become routine.

I'd gone to the trouble of forging a note earlier that day, hoping to explain my upset stomach as some medical problem. No need for some nosy professor to send his own note home to my folks and get me in real trouble. I liked it better my way, where I could deal with it on my terms.

Someone knocked at the stall. It was an impatient rapping sound that was just loud enough to drag me back to reality. I glared at the closed door, mumbling a "just a minute" as I piled my books back into the crook of my arm.

A petite blonde, her hair pulled back by a thin rose colored ribbon met me on the other side. She had a mean look worn across her face. For such a pretty girl, she sure did look awful when she stared at me at me like that.

"It's about time."

I clutched the heavy textbooks to my chest. Heart thrashing beneath my thin blouse, I began to put the pieces together. The blonde brushed past me and disappeared into the stall. All the while my stomach continued to _flip flop _and I knew it wasn't the same sickness that had led me there in the first place.

Anxiety grabbed me by the throat. The air felt too thick. I couldn't get any into my lungs. I swore the loud drumming inside my head was the sound of my heart as it beat in violent pumps against my chest cavity; desperate to be free.

A switch had been thrown. The realization had hit me and hit hard. I knew I wasn't the brightest girl in Tulsa. There wouldn't be any special awards for me when I graduated. No scholarships or honor roll but that didn't mean I couldn't catch on at all.

Stomach acid crept along the wall of my throat as if to agree with this sudden theory. I swallowed the thickness back down. Mind reeling at the thought.

_Was it possible?_

I knew it was, but I'd never thought it would happen…could happen now. Not to me.

_It's not possible. Where were the signs?_

A hand slipped from the stack of books and came to rest on my stomach. I let my fingers explore the width of it; pressing into the soft flesh in hopes of finding something out of place. There was nothing I didn't recognize. Nothing to make me worry.

_How long until it shows? It's been almost two months, wouldn't there be something if I was…_

The flatness of my stomach did nothing to reassure my fears. I was uneducated in this area. The one thing I did know only seemed to heighten the anxiety.

_It hasn't happened in two months._

I was near hysterical when I heard the toilet flush behind the stall.The textbooks were the only things real to me then. I clutched them as though they'd spare me from this nightmare. Fingers curled around their wide spines, knuckles white from the grip. I held them to my chest and darted out the bathroom door.

The hall was near empty. It felt good not having to wade through the crowd. Voices sounded from up ahead toward the cafeteria. I was too sick. I didn't think I'd be able to keep anything down.

A desperate jog took hold of me halfway down the hall. I turned a corner, racing past the science lab. Lockers blurring as my desperation increased and my speed along with it. The loud, _click clack_ of my heeled shoes echoed back at me as I ran. It wasn't until I reached the library and pushed my way through its wide, wooden doors that I slowed completely.

I knew where to go. Not because I was the type of person to be found in the library during lunch. That sort of thing didn't do it for me. Truth be told, I'd never stepped foot into the library until the year before when I'd found the most unreasonable English tutor Will Rogers could offer. He'd laid out the entire thing for me, Dewey Decimal System and all. At the time it had been a waste. Another fifteen minutes of my life that I'd never get back. Boy was I thankful for it now.

I found what I was looking for. A thick, medical text that I swore was double my own weight. I piled the heavy piece with the rest of my books and found a table. The place was empty save for two brainy looking kids, huddled in the back corner. _._

The medical book intimidated me with all its jargon and pages. I'd never once read a book that was more than three hundred pages and that was for school. This monstrosity was over six.

Hands unsteady, I turned the pages. The index led a path through the mass of medical terms. I trudge through glossy diagrams of the human insides. Arrows indicating the parts I'd never known, nor heard of. The majority of the book was filled with words I couldn't understand.

_I should have brought a dictionary._

I was about ready to give up. Let myself suffer however long I needed to with the stomach sickness. A missed period wasn't something to complain about, so that I could handle. I would just have to forge more elaborate notes. Perhaps I could get that tutor kid to help. He knew a lot fancy words to make it more believable.

_**Signs of Early Pregnancy**_

The words were like a slap to the face. I froze. Lungs deflated until I sat there, gasping for breath. Two heads from the back of the library -the brainy kids- shot a glare in my direction. Suddenly my guesses had transformed from mere paranoia to something more tangible.

Once again my hand drifted to my stomach. It wasn't a loving gesture the way I'd seen my Aunt Rhonda do when she was having the twins. She'd comfort the bulge with these soft, rubbing motions. My hands didn't want to comfort anything. If they could, I'd let them tear straight through the flesh and pull out the seed before it could grow. Then I'd use the damn medical text to suture myself back together.

But I continued to read. I had to. Part of me still believed that it was just an overreaction. Though as I finished the text for the second time, I knew it was more than just a stomach bug. The symptoms were there. I'd done the deed, though foggy as it was, I remembered enough to know that it had been done.

_Seventeen._

_Pregnant._

_Seventeen._

_Pregnant._

_I'm only seventeen and pregnant._

The words played a sick mantra in the back of my head. I felt the stomach acid turn and rise. I was up and running for the door, hands over my mouth, praying to make the girls room in time.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** I'm really excited about this chapter the main reason being because now I get to introduce Steve to the wonderful mess I've created for him. I'm finding I love writing Steve. He has such a voice. Although, he comes across a bit rough around the edges, he truly is a sweetie. Please let me know if he seems in character. Anyway, hope everyone enjoys reading this as much I did writing it.

**Dislcaimer: **Don't own a thing but the original characters and story. Everything else -Steve included- are S.E. Hinton's. But if she wants she can always give me Steve ;) I'll return him in semi- working order. Lol.

* * *

_And I will go on shining  
Shining like brand new  
I'll never look behind me  
My troubles will be few_

_--Supertramp "Goodbye Stranger"_

* * *

Steve

_**Three days later**_

Tires marks burnt into the asphalt. The smell of fresh road kill tainted the humid Tulsa air. A young child screamed a little too late. The sound penetrated the rustic Ford pickup. My hands were already on the wheel, waiting to put the vehicle into gear and get back to the DX. The hell with the kid who was bawling or the smatter of fur on the grill, it would all go away once I pulled back onto the road.

It was then that I noticed her running from across the street. I could have pulled out and gone back to work without a second thought. Heck, it had just been a cat. Not that great a loss, there were tons of 'em in the neighborhood. But then again, I wanted to stick around and see what this broad was about. Charging across lawns at strange men in pickup trucks; she had to be good for a laugh.

I waited behind the wheel, foot on the gas incase I decided to change my mind and drop her. I was almost tempted to peel out once she got close. She was giving me a mean look. Forehead creased in anger, she looked a lot like my old lady comin' around the front of the truck.

She paused a foot before the grill, eyeing the bits that Puss in Boots had left as he'd been hit. When her eyes met mine over the hood, I knew the fun and games were over. She didn't look anything but mad and an upset chick wasn't something I wanted to deal with at the moment.

Sticking my head out the driver's window I shouted "Look, do ya mind movin' yerself from in front of my truck. I got places to go."

Brown hair whipped about her face. I waited for her to step aside but it seemed as though she'd gone and rooted herself into the cement. I gave her a warning and revved the engine. In turn she placed her hands upon her hips.

_That's it_.

"I'll run you down."

"Just like you did that little girls cat?"

_What the hell was with this broad?_

"Move!"

Her eyes narrowed to slits. Jaw set and lips pursed, she continued to do her impression of a roadblock.

I brought a meaty fist down upon the steering wheel. The truck screamed in protest, the sound of the old pickup's horn echoed off the surrounding houses. The brunette jumped at the noise but quickly reclaimed her place.

I cursed low in my throat. Taking my hand off the wheel, I eased on the gas just enough to get the truck moving forward. Once again the girl jumped. She stumbled backwards, trying to find her footing.

If there was one thing I had little of it was patience and this chick had used the last of my reserves.

"You crazy hood!" she shouted.

She was going backwards; tripping over her feet as she went. The truck crawled after her. I made sure not to press any harder than I was on the gas but hell, if I didn't want her to just step aside.

"Get out of my way, already!"

She tripped. Hit the cement butt first and disappeared from view. The truck had been creeping ever the more closely upon her. It took only seconds for me to react. Once she fell my foot came down on the brakes with enough force to punch holes through the floor.

I tore open the door and came around the front of the truck. She was sitting there, a pouf of brown hair dangling in front of her face.

"Y'alright?"

I hesitated and then gave her a nudge with my foot. Not hard or nothing, but just enough so that her body moved with it.

"Hey, come on now. Quit foolin' around."

She was on her feet before I could nudge her again. Two mean eyes staring at me underneath all that hair. I ain't never seen a broad look so mean in all my life. She wasn't much to look at. Bony legs and big ears, is all I could see. But with her tiny hands balled into fists, seething the way she was, I couldn't help but feel somewhat excited. Even if I did have a girlfriend, I couldn't help my emotions.

My wanderin' gaze registered with the brunette. Disgust appeared, replacing the anger. Her upper lip curled into something akin to a snarl, minus the sound. I thought I recognized those lips. That pale, sweat streaked skin. Hair ravaged by the humidity. Something about it all made my stomach churn and then her fist came outta nowhere and knocked the sense right outta me.

Now I'd been hit by Darrel Curtis, so I knew what it was to get knocked around something fierce. But it was like comparing Lois Lane to Superman, and this gal was nothing but skin and bones. So when those tightly folded fingers met my face, it hurt, sure, but it was the shock that made my head reel to the side.

I got my bearings mighty fast. Backing up, hands splayed in front of me as my only defense. I gave the girl one of my meaner looks that I reserved for Soc's and some of the teachers at Will Rogers.

She deflected the look with one of her own. Her gaze fell on the little kid, whose cat I'd hit. Blonde curls matted with tears and dirt, she kept wide blue eyes trained on me as I continued to retreat.

"You no good hood" the brunette screeched.

Two fists cut through the air. Step by step, she closed the gap between us, swinging her arms like they was baseball bats or something. We musta looked like a couple of fools standin' around in the street like that. Her coming at me, arms all over the place but never once connecting with anything.

"Can ya stop it already?"

One hand around each wrist, I took hold of 'em before she could try to hit me again. She jerked in my grasp, kicking and screamin' and makin' a show out of it.

"You let me go right now, greaser!"

I snickered. "Look whose talkin' doll. You ain't no class act yerself. Throwin' punches and all, ain't that right up there with tea drinkin' and curtseying?"

"Don't talk to me that way" she yelled, pulling against my hands. "Let go!"

I did like she said. Only because the neighbors were bound to start wonderin' what all the fuss was about and if I got caught, handlin' the crazy broad the way I was, the fuzz would soon enough show up. People always got the wrong idea about things like that. If anyone needed lockin' up though, it was her.

"You always crazy like this or is it just my lucky day?"

"Do you always run over a child's cat?"

I shrugged.

"If the dang thing don't want to look both ways before crossin' the street, ain't my problem."

It wasn't until those blue orbs looked up from the ground and I saw the little girl starin' at me again, that I started to feel awful. She was a tough kid. Tears gone from her eyes, the rest of her face remained swollen and red.

The young woman sucked in a deep breath. It sounded like a shudder. Her body shook for a moment, eyes pointed at her ratty shoes. They was boys shoes and a few sizes too big. When she lifted her head I thought I saw the rise of tears. She wiped 'em away before I could be sure.

_Jeez, she had to bring out the waterworks._

"I ain't sorry I hit the cat" I said.

She flinched.

"It shouldn't have been wanderin' outside."

The little girl was on her feet, fingers entwined with the brunettes. The brunette ignored me; dusting dirt from the child's dress, shaking her head at the newly scraped knee.

"I'll get ya another cat if ya want, just don't start cryin'…"

"We don't want _another_ cat" the girl hissed. "We were fine with the old one."

She straightened herself and moved to stand just inches from me. Though I hovered almost a foot taller than her, she stood, unperturbed.

"You think you can just waltz into peoples lives, turn everything upside down and think they won't care? Well they _do _care! You can just _fix_ it with a new cat! These are people's futures you're messing up."

_This broad was one for the books._

"Are you even talking about the cat?"

Another shriek escaped her mouth.

"Elizabeth, run along inside, okay sweetheart?"

Blue eyes glanced back at me. I could see the kid hesitate, buck teeth biting her bottom lip. The young woman cleared her throat and motioned towards a dilapidated yellow house. The screen door tilted awkwardly in the frame. A bike and a few other miscellaneous items covered the porch.

"But Nancy, what about Blackie?"

I cringed at the name.

"Well, talk about your cat when I get inside, okay? How about you go make yourself some cookies?"

"But ma says the cookies are for desert. It'll ruin my super."

"Well, we're allowed to be a little bad sometimes. I won't tell if you won't."

She shot the little girl a wink and I couldn't help but grin. Elizabeth's eyes lit up. She flashed a wide, toothy smile back and darted across the long. Blonde curls bouncing as she ran.

When the screen door slammed shut, Nancy turned on me. Eyes narrowed the same as they'd been earlier. It was weird how she could go from sweet and sugary to hateful and loony in a matter of seconds.

"Do you know who I am?"

"Nancy?"

She rolled her eyes.

"That's not what I meant."

"Look, I gotta get back to work. I don't have time for this."

"Well make time!"

"I'm gettin' real tired of that attitude, doll."

"You really don't know who I am _do_ you?"

I made to go back to the pickup. The girl was yanking my chain and there was only so much I was going to take until I turned around and laid her out. I wasn't one for hittin' girls but in her case I would make an exception.

"Where are you going?" she called to my retreating back.

"To work. I shoulda been back ten minutes ago. No thanks to you."

"Wait, you can't go!"

It sounded like a sob. I flinched and kept walking.

_It's another trick. The broad is Looney Tunes._

Her tennis shoes slapped along the hot pavement. Panting, she stood blocking my path to the driver's side. There was desperation and tears in her eyes. Those damn tears were back and this time she wasn't doin' a thing to hide them.

"Please," she begged. "You have to remember. You _have _to"

"I don't know…"

"Six weeks ago. Remember?"

I shook my head.

"Will Rogers won the football game against the team from Bixby. There was a party afterwards. It was at Bryon something's house. Remember?"

I did remember, sorta. Soda and me had gone to take my mind off Evie. She'd gone and dumped me again. It had been the third time in the past two months. I'd gone and got myself hauled in for stealin' a pack a smokes from the drug store up the road. Evie always hated when I got arrested.

That night though, had been nothin' but trouble. Too much drinkin' and a few hours away from Soda and I could barely remember my own name let alone what I'd done. There were blurred images of a pale woman sprawled across me. Hair stuck to her face with sweat. I'd thought I'd made her up.

"That was you? In the room…"

The tears fell.

"Look I'm sorry…" I didn't know how to handle a crying chick. "I don't remember it much. I'd been drinkin' and if there's anything that you thought it meant…"

She wiped the tears away.

"That's not why I'm upset, you idiot."

_Looney Tunes._

"I'd been drinking too. I don't remember most of that night. I do know what happened with us though."

"So we did…"

"Yes."

"So what, you want an apology or somethin'?"

"What I want is my life back. Can you give me that?"

"What?"

A shudder tore through her small frame. With a shake of her head and a forced smile, she stared, hard and long at me.

"What's your name?" it was a whisper and then a laugh. "I don't even know your name."

"Steve. Steve Randal. Are you okay? Should ya sit down or somethin'?"

She shook her head, no.

"You may want to. See, 'cause I'm pregnant."

Someone musta knocked me across the head. I was struggling to take in air but it was no use, it wouldn't work. I thought I'd heard the girl say she was pregnant. When I saw her face, eyes glassy with tears, her lip trembling, I realized I'd heard right.

The ache in my stomach was back. It had been warning me from the very start. Telling me that this girl was nothing but trouble.

_How could she go and get herself pregnant?_

"It's not mine" I muttered.

I heard a gasp.

"I'm not that kind of girl, Steve. It is yours!"

I shot her a mean look. Stomping across the asphalt until my chest rubbed against hers. It made me feel better to see her coward away for once.

_Good!_

Voice, rough as gravel I said "How am I supposed to believe that when you tell me we slept together at a party? Hmm? Maybe you was with some other guy. You can't even remember that night."

Another gasp.

"It was you" she pleaded. "It wasn't someone else. It was you."

"Shut it!"

She jumped.

I turned back to the truck. Legs not moving fast enough, I ran the last few steps. Throwing myself behind the wheel, I slammed the driver's door for added effect. Regardless of the chewing out Darry would give me, if he ever discovered that I'd been rough to the old Ford.

Nancy continued to stand, arms at her sides, eyes watching me. Any moment and she'd run in front of the truck. I knew she would do it. So, I revved the engine loud enough to warn her. If she got hit it would be her own fault. Just like that damn cat who'd been too stupid to mind his own business.

Foot on the gas I peeled out, burning a trail of rubber in my wake. From the rearview mirror, Nancy's reflection stared back at me. I saw it and felt sick. Thoughts raced through my head a mile a minute, I couldn't catch a one of them.

_What about Evie? She'll skin me if she finds out._

_Does it count that we was broken up?_

_Nancy's a Looney Tune. She lies. It ain't mine._

_How can she tell?_

_Is she going to keep it?_

_Would Buck give me the money to pay to get it taken care of?_

_Did she want me to take care of it?_

_What about her folks?_

_ My folks?_

_It ain't mine. I know it ain't._

The familiar DX sign appeared over the last hill. Soda would be there, wonderin' where I'd gone to for the last fifteen minutes. Darry would rip me a new one for not having his truck back on time. They'd all be askin' questions and I didn't know any of the answers. I couldn't even think to make up any answers. There was just too much going on in my head; I didn't want to bother hurting it with anything else.

_Jeez, why's my life gotta be so awful? Bet stuff like this never happens to the Soc's. _

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End file.
